Winter Exploration

Last Saturday I found this possible (robin?) nest on the edge of the forest. Later on I found the remains of a turkey, with a great deal of coyote tracks trampling the area. I was not able to stay at the spot for very long since I was with two of my dogs, I did not want them finding a new toy. One of my favorite things about winter is the great tracking, all the ground traffic in the forest becomes visible, it is very exciting.

Morning Frost

Yesterday morning on the way to work. Off route 155a, across from Moore fields.

North Uncanoonuc

On Saturday me and an a friend went up North Mountain of the "Uncannonuc Mountains" in Goffstown NH. It was a beautiful crisp winter day. It was nice to find another forest to explore in this part of the state. The top of the mountain (more like a big hill) is forested, but there is enough of an opening to get a pretty clear view of Manchester and portions of southern New Hampshire.

On our way up we spotted two people walking two leashed goats down the mountain, which explained the scat that looked like deer or hare, and small/narrow tracks similiar to deer tracks.

It was a neat spot, next time though I'd like to get there earlier when there is more sunlight left so I can explore the trails and forest more thoroughly.

A view of Manchester from the top of North Mountain.

Canadian Geese

I pass this farm field in Durham on 155a regularly en route to UNH. There are often large flocks of Canadian geese foraging in the fields. Apparently many flocks do not fly as far south as they once did, as fields such as these are sometimes available for food when there is not lots of snow cover. Many people see geese as pests, but they are very beautiful creatures. Seeing flocks flying in v-formations is one of my favorite autumn sight, along with the powerful honking call.

Caterpillar

The weekend before thanksgiving I was doing some landscaping work, I found this vibrant little caterpillar on one of the leaves I was about to rake.

Up Close

Two nights ago I spent some time playing with my macro lens inside. To make it more interesting, I limited myself to what items I could photograph in the bathroom. Here are a couple of them.


The top and bottom shots are from a blow dryer, the one with the grooved red is a toothbrush.

Project 365

I have transformed my JordanJessop.com website into the site for my Project 365, which started today. This is a popular idea around the internet, to take a photo every day for a whole year. It is great practice, fun, and should be an interesting way to chronicle the year.

My separate photography website I am revamping and working on, I plan on adding an e-commerce component and totally reworking it, with a new domain name. That will likely be around in a few weeks.

Twig Bundle Fire

The ability to make a fire is an essential and useful skill, especially for anyone that spends any time hiking or out in the woods. Exposure is the leading killer for lost travelers and hikers. The ability to make a fire to warm the body is invaluable. When I head out into the woods I usually have at least two match safes with me, with sandpaper glued to the outside for quick and easy igniting; a flint/steel set; and several other items including cotton balls covered in petroleum jelly.

I was in Springfield NH for a few days visiting family, and I made sure to spend some time out in the woods with my camera. While I was out there I stopped and made a little twig bundle fire-

Arethusa Falls on Christmas Day

My fiancee and I spent a few days in the White Mountains, on Christmas we hiked up to Arethusa Falls. Christmas day was grey and cloudy, but the day before was a clear blue sky, which made for a beautiful drive through the Kancamangus.
Arethusa is a popular ice-climbing spot in the winter and a popular summer hike year-round. Most estimates put the falls somewhere between 15o' - 200' long.


The trail up Arethusa was well packed, so there was no need for snow shoes. We periodically heard the intimidating sound of ice breaking and crashing down from the nearby Frankenstein Cliffs. The falls were frozen solid, with many tracks up to the falls, though no one was climbing, we had the spot to ourselves, it was very calm and peaceful. We did pass a small group of people on the descent. Both of these photos were taken by Jacqui with her 18-250mm Tamron lens.

Snowshoeing in Springfield

A clearing in the forest. One of my favorite spots to visit.

I went home (Springfield NH) for the weekend and had the chance to spend a few hours snowshoeing with a good friend and my dogs in the woods I spent years exploring while growing up there. The conditions were great for tracking, there was thin dusting of snow that fell the evening before, on top of a thick crust of snow. I love observing the winter traffic in the forest, it always seems like such a bustling place! There were a great deal of turkey tracks (saw quite few of the birds on two different occasions while out there), squirrel, grouse, mice, deer, hare, and a few coyote or fox.

turkey tracks (above)

snowshoe hare (ab0ve)

Autumn Sunset

I haven't had too much time with my camera in the last couple of weeks because of exams, work, and were are in the process of moving out of our apartment. But I usually have my camera nearby, so on my drive home from work last Friday I pulled over twice to snap a few quick shots of the exciting sunset.

Quick Foliage Photos

I never really had the chance get out much this autumn to get some foliage photos as much as I had hoped. But I did manage to pull my car over a few times when I couldn't resist getting a better look at some of the trees in the area, particular as I drive through Dover.
So below are a couple of random photos of a few of the nice trees.


This is at the corner Locust St (Above).


On a cloudy day, off Washington St. Probably past it's prime, but in the sunlight it is truly breathtaking (Above).

The one above is from Wagon hill, some of the oaks (not as dazzling as the red maples in the wetlands three weeks ago)

Wandering Around Wagon Hill

This past Sunday I spent a couple of hours exploring the trails and forest around the Wagon Hill conservation area off Route 4. The conservation area reaches past the hill to the forest and wetlands along Great Bay. I spotted a great blue heron in the stream which cuts through the marsh into the bay.


Nearly all of the red maples have dropped their vibrant red leaves by now, especially the most colorful examples throughout the wetlands. But many of the oaks are very colorful still.
Below is a shot from the point which juts out into great bay.

Portsmouth Patterns

It's been way too long since my last post. While I have been out with my camera, I haven't been out nearly as much as I would like.
Here are a few shots I took in Portsmouth two weeks ago or so, I was interested in the many different patterns along the ground.

Vibrant Green

I took this photo last week during a walk in the woods, the green stood out for me, with the sunlight hitting it, especially among the darker hemlock and other deciduous leaves colors changing and dropping.

Sunlight Spider

I found this spider in college woods a few days ago, it almost seemed as if it was clinging on for dear life as the seasons change and winter begins to slowly creep in.
The image didn't come out as sharp as I hoped, I probably rushed the shot too much as I tried to catch it in the sunlight, while it briefly poked through the thick forest canopy.

Chapman's Landing

My wetland ecology class visited the riverine salt marsh at Chapman's Landing in Stratham NH off 108. It is alongside the Squamscott River, a beautiful spot with all sorts of interesting plants and animals such as ribbed mussels and common glasswort, a vibrant red succulent plant. Below is a view of a portion of the marsh. I have developed a new appreciation for wetlands as I learn more about them. Not only do they provide essential ecosystem services such as water filtration, and can act as a storm buffer on the coast, but they are also beautiful and full of interesting natural wonders.

Fog at Dusk

Over the weekend Jacqui and I drove back from central NH, there seemed to be fog all over the southeastern part of the state, this is off route 155, next to UNH's Kingman Farm.

Red Eft

I was at Harvard Forest, in Petersham Massachusetts, recently for work, I found this eastern newt (in the red eft stage) underneath a basket used for collecting foliage. They can live up to 12-15 years in the wild, and spend a couple of years in the red eft terrestrial juvenile stage before returning to the water in the aquatic adult stage.

Burlington VT

I was in Burlington Vermont for a couple of hours a few weeks ago and had the chance to snap a few photos. It's a really neat city, I look forward to getting back there for a longer visit some time.